SCIL Statement On OC And LA Shelter Problems and AB 1881 Needs Your Voice!
SCIL STATEMENT ON OC AND LA SHELTER PROBLEMS
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AB 1881 NEEDS YOUR VOICE!
SCIL Statement on Orange County and Los Angeles Animal Shelter Issues
Our beaches are overflowing with people, our restaurants are packed, air travel at record highs, but Orange County and Los Angeles can’t open their animal shelters?! This seems disingenuous at best.
If the public is denied access to visit the animals to make a connection and bond, then the results are obvious: adoptions plummet and euthanasia skyrockets. It’s commonsense.
These shelters MUST fully open back up to the public. This will give more animals a chance at a forever home while also clearing space in shelters for stray or lost animals. It will also help with behavioral issues that crop up when animals are left alone in their cages for way too long without enrichment or appropriate interaction with people.
Over the last few months, animal shelter employees and volunteers in Orange and Los Angeles Counties have raised the alarm around conditions in the shelters. They describe lack of shelter space, animals not being let out of their cages for multiple days or even weeks at a time, filthy water bowls, and wet or unsanitary floors. In addition to eroding conditions, animals are being turned away and being euthanized due to lack of space. This should not be where we are at in 2022!
We are outraged to hear the animals in these shelters are suffering these conditions. The employees and volunteers cite lack of necessary staffing and overly burdensome Covid protocols which lead to many permanent or volunteer staff being unable to work even though they have tested negative.
We respect Covid protocols, but lockdown is in the rearview mirror. SCIL, our supporters, and pet lovers across the state demand that local governments immediately give the shelters the resources they need for adequate staffing in addition to amending Covid protocols so that current staff can return to work with a negative test. Shelters should resume normal operations while keeping their staff safe by mandating masks be worn inside the shelters and having staff test regularly. Enough is enough already.
We are encouraged that the L.A. City Council had an emergency meeting on the issues facing shelters and heard the concerns voiced by staff, volunteers, and the public, but it is time for immediate action in LA and OC needs to step up its game now.
AB 1881 Needs Your Call to Your Senator Now!
We are thrilled to announce that AB 1881, the Dog and Cat Bill of Rights, passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee via a rule waiver which recognizes the bill will have little to no cost to state.
The bill, authored by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), describes the needs of dogs and cats in seven broad clauses ranging from the right to be free from cruelty and neglect to the right to daily mental stimulation and appropriate exercise. The list will be required to be posted and accessible to public view at all public animal control agencies or shelters, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelters, humane society shelter, or rescue groups in order to educate potential adopters.
The bill now moves to the floor for a vote by the full Senate.
Please make a call to your Senator urging them to vote “YES” on AB 1881 by 5 PM this Friday.
CLICK HERE TO FIND YOUR SENATOR
We cannot thank you all enough for the action you take for the animals! Please consider making a donation to help us continue our work.
With gratitude,
Judie Mancuso, founder/CEO/president
Social Compassion in Legislation
